Thoughts From The Bible

The thirteenth message from the book of Isaiah, “The Day of the Lord.” 

This chapter is all about the day of the LORD. What is the day of the Lord? When will it happen? Who will be judged? We will look at what the Bible has to say about this certain future day.

The phrase “the day of the Lord” is found 27 times in 26 verses. Other variations of this phrase are found many times. It is not to be confused with the “day of Christ” or other days. It is a very specific phrase applying to a certain day.

The day of the Lord is the second coming of Christ. He came first as a Lamb to save men from their sins; the second time he will come as a Lion to judge the world.

Isa 13:6  Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.

The eleventh message from the book of Isaiah called "What the Lord is to me."

Our verse for today is found in Isaiah 12:2:

Isa 12:2  Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

Let’s also read Psalms 21:1 and Exodus 15:2:

Psa 27:1  The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Exo 15:2  The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him.

I would like to look at what the Lord is to those who know him as their personal Saviour. He is our light and salvation, our God, and our life. The Lord is my strength and my song today.

The eleventh message from the book of Isaiah, “The Branch.” 

Isaiah 11:1-2  "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: (2)  And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;"

Isaiah chapter 11 is about the Lord Jesus Christ, the Branch. It tells us of the second coming of Christ and the peace he will bring on earth.

The second part of the chapter foretells how the nation of Israel will be gathered from all corners of the earth. They will no longer flee from their enemies and none will dare harm them.

We also read about “a Branch.” This Branch is Jesus Christ who is a King, a Servant, a Man, and God.

In the four Gospels, we find Jesus Christ as a King in the book of Matthew, a Servant in Mark, a Man in Luke, and God in John.

Today, we will do a short study about Jesus as the Branch.

The tenth message from the book of Isaiah, “Instruments in the hands of God.” 

Isaiah 10:15  "Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood."

Isaiah chapter 10 is about Assyria lifting itself in pride against the Lord. The Lord had given the Assyrians the power and ability to conquer and rule over nations. He also used them to punish Israel.

But they became full of pride! The Lord clearly tells them that he will bring them down.

I would like us to look at how this verse applies spiritually to the New Testament church.

All saved people are instruments, or vessels, that can be used in the hands of God. God saved us and made us his children to do something. Yes, Jesus Christ died to pay for our sins and give us eternal life—but he has a much greater purpose for you and me than just going to heaven!

You are his instrument! How do I know that? Because the Bible makes it very clear that he uses his people to tell the world of his saving grace, show the world his glory, and teach the world his ways. He uses us!

The ninth message from the book of Isaiah called “Who is Jesus?

Our verses are found in Isaiah 9:6-7:

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (7)  Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this."

In this passage, we have the birth of Christ and prophecies concerning him. But we also read that the Saviour Jesus Christ has five names, Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, and The Prince of Peace.

I believe each of these names represents a part of his character and personality. 

Let’s see what each of these five names represents in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The eighth message from the book of Isaiah called “A Stone of Stumbling.” 

Our verses for today are found in Isaiah 8:13-15:

"13 Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken."

Verse 14 says the Lord will be a sanctuary for some—but for others a stone of stumbling. Every person has a choice: the Lord can be your Saviour and sanctuary, or a stone to stumble over. You must decided what you will do with Jesus Christ.

We are going to look at two ways people stumble when they hear the gospel or about how Jesus Christ paid for their sins. We will then look at the result of this stumbling.

The seventh message from the book of Isaiah called “The Virgin Birth.” 

Isa 7:14  Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

In Isaiah 7:14 we have a powerful verse proving that Jesus Christ, the promised Saviour, would be born from a virgin. His name would be “Immanuel” meaning “God is with us.” From this passage we find out God would come down and live with man—in a human body. Later it would be revealed he would be 100% God and also 100% man.

The virgin birth is a doctrine that puzzles many people. They just don’t see how such a thing is possible and struggle to believe it. 

There are many who question whether God really created all things and is all-powerful. Therefore, they would certainly have a problem with the idea that a woman could conceive a child without the involvement of a man. 

However, for those who believe God and the Bible, it is not a problem. That God should become a man through simple maiden does not trouble them.

For those who do believe in the virgin birth it is often overlooked, rarely meditated on, or studied. The virgin birth is simply in their doctrinal statement and many do not give it a second thought. It is very important to study this topic in light of the humanity of Christ as we will see throughout this lesson.

The sixeth message from the book of Isaiah called “The Requirements of a Missionary.”

In chapter six we read of Isaiah having a vision of the Lord’s throne. It is one of the most vivid descriptions of the the throne of God in the Bible. When Isaiah realizes what he is seeing, he sees himself as unclean and unholy. 

In this chapter the Lord is looking for someone to go for him. Isaiah responds with these famous words: “Here am I; send me.”

Today we will look at what is required of a missionary from this chapter. 

First, what IS a missionary? From reading the Bible (Especially the book of Acts) you will find a missionary is simply someone who gives the world the gospel. It is also someone who goes to a people who have never heard, or do not understand the gospel message.

So a missionary is not someone who goes to a Bible believing church and preaches. No, it is a person who goes outside the church and preaches the gospel to this world.

Every Christian should live as a missionary for God. Even if that means staying in the city you were born in for your entire life. Be God’s missionary and give the people in your town the gospel!

The fifth message from Isaiah called “The Lord’s Vineyard,”

In chapter five the nation of Israel is pictured as the Lord’s vineyard. He protected, prepared and planted his vineyard. He looked for it to bring forth good fruit, but instead it brought forth wild fruit. This was fruit that could have grown without the Lord’s help.

So the Lord breaks down the walls, treads the grapes, and allows thorns and briers to come in the middle of the vines. He stopped the rain from blessing his vineyard, and did not prune it.

And so the house of Israel slowly became ruined.

This is a sad picture of what happens when you do not obey the Lord.

I believe this is a good picture of how the church is slowly dying. The Lord has blessed and watered the church. He has taken great care of his church, in fact he died for it. 

But the church has neglected the Lord, it has denied him and turned it’s back to the Lord. And so the church is dying today. The influence of the world has entered. There are thorns and wild fruit. This is false doctrine and unbelievers. Yes, the church today is full of unsaved people and false doctrine!

In chapter five of Isaiah we have six woes. These are warnings from the Lord because his people had forsaken him. We will look at each of them today.,

The fourth message from the book of Isaiah called "The Bride of Christ."

Chapter four begins by showing how terrible the battle was in chapter 3:25, 26. There will be so few men left, that there will be a ratio of 7 women to 1 man. The judgement of God is a fearful thing to behold.

But there is good news in this chapter—the Lord will not judge forever nor will he forsake his people. In this day, after the chastisement, the Lord will come to heal and cleanse his people. Israel will be a glorious and holy people unto the Lord.

In this passage, Israel is God’s people, often called his wife. For us as New Testament believers, we are part of the church, Jesus’s body, his bride.

In this passage, we find a picture of how we are seen in the eyes of God as the bride of Christ.